Penn State's O'Brien named Big Ten Coach of the Year

He didn't lead the team that made the biggest turnaround in the Big Ten. Urban Meyer did that.

He didn't lead his team to the Big Ten Championship Game. That accomplishment went to Bo Pelini and Bret Bielema.

But when it came to taking over a program loaded with uncertainty, heading into a future figured by many to be doomed by sanctions and scholarship reductions, no coach in the conference had a tougher job than Bill O'Brien.

On Tuesday, Penn State's first-year coach received the Big Ten's top honor, being named Coach of the Year by both the coaches and the media after leading the Nittany Lions to an 8-4 record and a second-place finish in the Leaders Division.

"This is a fantastic honor. It's very humbling," O'Brien said in a statement. "Any time you are named coach of the year, it has a lot to do with two groups of people. It's your coaching staff and obviously your players. We have a great coaching staff that did a nice job of keeping everything together and teaching our players. And our players did a great job of going out there every week and playing as hard as they could.

"It's an honor for our program."

Also receiving accolades Tuesday, defensive end Deion Barnes earned the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year award.

O'Brien is just the seventh first-year head coach to win the Dave McGloin Coach of the Year award from the media. Joe Paterno last won the Coach of the Year award for Penn State during the Big Ten championship season of 2008.

O'Brien guided the Nittany Lions with a steady hand, a pronounced vision and an offense that ranked among the most innovative in the conference.

That offense became the first in Penn State to feature a 3,000-yard passer (Matt McGloin) and 1,000-yard rusher (Zach Zwinak) and a 1,000-yard receiver (Allen Robinson). McGloin led the Big Ten in passing yards, and Robinson led in receiving yards.

With O'Brien also serving as offensive coordinator, Penn State led the Big Ten in total offense (437.0 ypg) in conference games and was second in scoring offense (32.6 ppg) and pass offense (283.1 ypg) against Big Ten foes this season. Penn State gained more than 500 yards of total offense three times in conference play, topped by 546 yards vs. Indiana, its highest total against a Big Ten foe since gaining 557 yards against Michigan State in 2008.

"He was the right man for the job," McGloin said after the season-ending 24-21 win over Wisconsin last Saturday. "He and (quarterbacks coach Charlie) Fisher saved my career."

A candidate for the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year award, O'Brien's Nittany Lions finished 8-4, with a 6-2 record in the Big Ten and victories in eight of their last 10 games.

O'Brien's eight wins are the most by a first-year Penn State coach in the 126 years of the program.

Barnes became the first Penn State player to win the Freshman of the Year award since Curtis Enis in 1995. He led the Nittany Lions with 10 tackles for loss and six sacks, which ranked him fifth in the conference.

"It's a great honor to be the Freshman of the Year," Barnes said in a statement. "It feels good, but I am looking forward to next season. I need to play better than I did this year."

Also honored by the Big Ten on Tuesday were Ohio State's Braxton Miller, who was named the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year, and Ohio State's John Simon, who was named the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year.

Miller rushed for 1,271 yards this season, which is second in Big Ten history for single-season rushing yards by a quarterback. Simon ranks among the NCAA's leaders in sacks (0.82) and tackles for loss (1.32) per game.

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com

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